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09/06/2011

Assassin's Creed Revelations, New Trailer, Info and Special Editions

Made by
Francisco S.

I'm a die-hard fan of Assassin's Creed series, so it would be obvious that I would post the new trailer Ubisoft released, even if i'm dying in pain, this must be shown and the information must also be shown! *pride in pain*

Assassin's Creed Revelations will continue the story of Ezio, the suave Italian, Altair, the protagonist of Assassins Creed 1 and mostly hated and forgotten and Desmond the futuristic cry-baby assassin in the making.

So like I said Ubisoft released a new trailer indulging a bit on the single-player walkthrough. We will see Ezio in Constantinople trying to flee the bustling metropolis and evade capture, you will see some of his new signature moves while successfully completing the objective.

"In Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, master assassin Ezio Auditore follows in the footsteps of his legendary mentor Altaïr, on a journey of discovery and revelation. It is a perilous path – one that will take him to Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, where a growing army of Templars threatens to destabilise the region.

Ezio’s Journey to Constantinople, and Ezio’s Escape from it

As the game picks up we find Ezio leaving Rome for Masyaf in search of the lost library of Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad. Though, upon arrival he soon learns that a powerful artefact is hidden within the locked library. So powerful that if the Templars gained possession of it, they would be able to crush the assassins and control humankind’s destiny.
To open the library’s vault and access the mysterious artifact, all but five keys are required – and all of them are seemingly spread throughout Constantinople. And as creative director, Alexandre Amancio explains: “what began as a pilgrimage becomes a race against time between Ezio and the Templars to find these keys.”

Why has the team chosen Constantinople though? Well, in 1511 Constantinople was the crossroads of the known world, as it was the center of commercial trade. It was home to all great civilizations since ancient times including Greeks, Romans and Ottomans, all of whom have claimed the city as theirs.

“It is a very immersive city, it’s crowded and exotic which makes the entire ambiance unique. The city has four different districts, each with its own unique flavor and architectural style. For example, for the first time in Assassin’s Creed history, we have a city that is mostly built from wood –very ornate, and busy in its design” explains Amancio.

Last night during Ubisoft’s press conference we saw the first glimpse of Constantinople, with our trusty hero hastily trying to make his escape from it. What we didn’t know was why, but now we do, as the demo takes place roughly halfway through the game, with Ezio hot on the trail of a leading Templar who possesses the last key needed to open the crypt in Masyaf. Though, taking down this Templar won’t be a simple task, as the Janissaries are hell bent on stopping him.
The Janissaries are the Sultan’s personal body guards, and an extremely well trained military corps recruited as young as 10-12 years old and trained throughout their life, they are considered a precursor of the modern military system. Equipped with firearms, they are experts in combat and are skilled sharpshooters. And whad’ya Know, Ezio’s only gone and annoyed them by killing one of their high ranking officers.

Knowing that Ezio has to leave the city by boat, the Janissaries have raised the chain that runs across the Golden Horn, preventing ships from both entering or leaving Constantinople. The chain, which was first destroyed during the Fourth Crusade, was rebuilt alongside the Galata Tower, with the primary intention of protecting the city from naval attacks. Though the tower has one weakness – counterweights that hold the chain together – something that Ezio will use his wit to take advantage of.

New Adversaries, New Allies, and New Love Interests

We know about the new challenges Ezio’s going to be facing including the Sultan and his elite guard, but who’s going to help Ezio along the way?

Much alike previous instalments in the franchise, there’s going to be a healthy amount of support characters alongside the master assassin himself, including Yusuf Tazim, the leader of the Constantinople assassins order. He’ll be the one that shows Ezio, and the player, around their new surroundings. And despite his tendency to self-aggrandize in the most amusing way possible, Yusuf is a charismatic leader that has kept the Assassin’s brotherhood intact through difficult times, protecting the innocent from the powerful.

Though the job of looking out for Ezio won’t only be placed on solely on Yusuf’s shoulders as a new faction known as The Romani join the fray. Commonly referred to as Gypsies, they play as similar role to the thieves or courtesans in previous instalments of the franchise, and with two dancers, one fire breather and one guitarist, they are “sure to make an impression – and distract anyone.”
Ezio’s also going to have a love interest in Sofia Sorto, a simple woman who vies for the battle-hardened assassin’s heart. How she’ll actually play into the story though, we’re not quite sure at this stage.

For an Assassin, Age is nothing but a Number

We’ve seen Ezio’s birth, and we’ve seen him grow, we’ve seen him mature, and we’ve seen him become the master assassin of the Brotherhood. Now, in Revelations we once again step back into the shoes of the beloved hero, now in his 50’s for one final adventure. And though Ezio may be looking a little worse for wear on the outside, he’s not slowing down anytime soon, and what better reflects that than a new arsenal of weapons, combat skills and signature Assassin’s Creed parkour.

In Revelations, Ubisoft is introducing a bomb crafting system, which is “simple to use without compromising its depth”. How was this accomplished? Well, we’ll let Amancio explain once again: “Usually in video games, you need to find a specific list of ingredients to craft a unique item. In our game, we have the complete opposite; we created a non-linear crafting system where every combination of ingredients actually creates something useful.” Simply put, that means there’s a huge amount of variety in the system, with more than 300 different variations.You can even create bombs to fit your style of play and the situations you are presented with, though “experimentation is key” and sometimes “happy mistakes are the most useful”. Though, there isn’t an infinite amount of bombs, and each bomb must be crafted using components collected throughout the game, some of which can be purchased from shops or in the Assassins dens, while others might be found only in a specific part of town, or by looting guards.
If that wasn’t interesting enough, Ezio’s also going to have a new way to traverse his environment in the form of the Hookblade, an Ottoman modification to the classic hidden blade. Not only will it improve flow by increasing Ezio’s mobility, but it also enables free running to be more fluid, and makes the overall navigation experience more fun. The blade itself is an eagle head whose beak creates a book, allowing Ezio to get a long-reach on the environment and enables him to propel himself.

Though, it’s not just Ezio’s arsenal that’s been improved, but his senses to. It appears that with age truly comes wisdom, with players now being able to use Eagle Sense, an improved version of Eagle Vision, to instinctively pick up cues in the environment to analyse a situation and formulate a strategic response. Used in combination with the bomb crafting system, for example, this allows Ezio to see his opponents, and move in for the kill, while there still coughing their lungs up breathing down smoke. Though, it can also provide an approximation of where enemies will go, and also allows you to detect traitors in the crowd.

Quite possibly one of the most interesting additions in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood was, well, the Brotherhood. Allowing players to call on a band of assassins to provide support at an integral moment was truly a sight to behold, but it didn’t quite live up to its potential. Well, the Brotherhood is back, and Ubisoft is promising some major improvements to its core mechanics by promising to make them “more meaningful to the player” while introducing a variety of new assassin classes, weapons, and missions.
These improvements to Ezio’s arsenal lets players “modify the gameplay to their liking”.
In addition to the award-winning single-player story, the acclaimed multiplayer also returns “refined and expanded” with “more modes, more enthralling maps and new characters” and “unlimited replay value.”

The demo, which premiered for the first time during Ubisoft’s E3 press conference is available to watch here, and showcases the revamped presentation and new MOCAM technology which Alexandre Amancio explains below:
As you can see in Revelations, the team is revamping presentation. It is an evolution in the series as the game includes multiple epic sequences with high production values – all playable like the demo. They are intense moments of high adventure punctuating your overall experience. Yet, the evolution of presentation is not strictly about revamped missions design, cinematic and in-game camera work but also about characters and performance. We have a cinematic shader in cut scenes which enables us to show pores and scar details, and all of the other in-game graphics which have been improved – the game is truly beautiful. We are also rethinking how we integrate performance of actors. We have a new tool called MOCAM, created here at Ubisoft, which captures key features in the actor’s face and translates the performance directly into the engine."

On a personal, he's over 50 and still runs like a marathon runner and the flexibility of a parkour champion, I really want to know his diet and routines so I can look as fit and badass as him.

The game will appear stabbing store clerks around November 15th 2011 with a collector's edition, and the animus edition. The collector's edition will consists of the following:

Special Single Player Outfit: The Turkish Assassin Outfit

The Game's Official Soundtrack

Multiplayer Characters: Crusader and Ottoman Doctor

And the Animus Edition will consist on a heavy price (rumored for £100 (according to electronictheater.com is £1,000 but I suspect there is a 0 there too much) or $AUS138 according to EB Games) and will consist of the following:

The Animus box: break the Assassin seal to unveil its content

In-depth encyclopedia, with comprehensive entries on the major characters, events and other important aspects of the Assassin’s Creed® universe.

Embers: The animated short movie.

Assassins Creed Soundtrack.

In-game content:

Explore the prison of legendary Vlad the Impaler, the scourge of Constantinople who inspired the myth of Dracula. Seek out the hanging cell of the infamous leader to retrieve his personal blade, a deadly close quarters dagger capable of dispatching any foe.

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